During the drilling of either vertical or horizontal wells for resource exploration and/or recovery, various drilling fluids, i.e., drilling muds, are employed to maintain well integrity and to clear the core hole of crushed material generated by the drilling process. The composition of the selected drilling mud is relevant because the ability of the drilling mud to transport drilling detritus to the surface greatly affects the drilling performance. The effective flow of the drilling mud is also relevant because the transported detritus comprises sediment, strata formation rock fragments and reservoir fluid which are analyzed to determine the subsurface formation that is presently at the location of the drill head.
One of the factors affecting the quality of the data derived from the drilling mud detritus is the accuracy of the depth assigned to the drilling mud pulse containing the associated detritus. The depth is estimated based on a calculation of mud flow velocity associated with the pumping rate. Unfortunately, due to changes in the drilling mud flow associated with changes in drilling conditions, depth shifts are a common occurrence. Attempts to improve drilling mud depth accuracy have even included introducing paint into the drilling mud but the requirement for visual inspection of the returning drilling mud has not improved the estimation of the drilling depth.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide systems and methods that avoid the afore-described problems and drawbacks associated with tracking and assessing drilling fluid flow and performance and, accordingly, detecting drilling mud return depth.